PRINT 05 Binding & Finishing — Bound to Please

Getting customers to stop by their booth was the No. 1 challenge facing manufacturers, suppliers and distributors during PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 in Chicago. Be it food, beverages, magicians or professional pool players, those exhibiting knew that getting one’s attention was as critical as spreading their company’s gospel.

This is particularly true for those purveyors of binding and finishing equipment, which offer such a vast array of products and services that it’s easy for attentions to get divided. The key was in seeing those attentions get conquered.

For example, Standard Finishing Systems and Horizon International made a huge splash with the demonstration of a comprehensive JDF-driven bindery control system, called i2i, that boasts broad interoperability with a number of major manufacturer’s equipment on the MIS, prepress and press sides. The bindery, of course, has long been the final frontier in terms of the lone remaining cog in the workflow where automation has not come to full fruition.

Böwe Bell + Howell was up to its eyes in company news—its recent acquisitions of BCC Software and Lasermax Roll Systems, and the launch of e-commerce mailing products platform BBHSupplies.com and mail production management software Böwe One. Those at the BCC Software booth were beaming about their new parent company.

One of the popular trends in the industry of late is the forging of multi-vendor relationships. As automation makes its way completely through the shop and printers demand continued points of differentiation from their suppliers, product breeding has become the movement du jour. One example of this is in the form of MBO’s DIGI-Finisher which, in tandem with Hohner Stitching Products’ HSB-7000 stitcher, demonstrated folding, stitching and brochure production at HP’s booth.